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Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

The Syracuse Chiefs have announced their All-Decade Team. Chad Mottola, the International League’s Most Valuable Player in 2000, has been honored as the Player of the Decade in Syracuse.

Mottola donned a Syracuse jersey for at least part of five seasons in the 2000s, starting with his MVP season of 2000. In 134 games that year, Mottola bashed 33 home runs and drove in 102 runs while hitting .309. In his Syracuse career, Mottola slugged 100 homers and knocked in 359 runs. He’s preparing for his first season as the hitting coach for the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League.

Re: Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

Baseball is such a humbling game. The history of the game is replete with players who had good minor league careers who never did much at the ML level. Mottola is one, Larsen was another, although without the length of Mottola's career. My sister-in-law's uncle, Tommy Umphlett, had a tremendous rookie season with Boston, taking Dom DiMaggio's place, was traded to the Senators and played two years there. But he played from 1956 until 1967, toiling all those years at AAA and AA for the Bosox, Yankees and Twins. And he had some good seasons in the minors, but never made it back to the ML level.

And we can all name player after player who never quite made, but who were good ballplayers at those lower levels.

“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"

Re: Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

Originally Posted by redsmetz

Baseball is such a humbling game. The history of the game is replete with players who had good minor league careers who never did much at the ML level. Mottola is one, Larsen was another, although without the length of Mottola's career. My sister-in-law's uncle, Tommy Umphlett, had a tremendous rookie season with Boston, taking Dom DiMaggio's place, was traded to the Senators and played two years there. But he played from 1956 until 1967, toiling all those years at AAA and AA for the Bosox, Yankees and Twins. And he had some good seasons in the minors, but never made it back to the ML level.

And we can all name player after player who never quite made, but who were good ballplayers at those lower levels.

Re: Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

Dave Revering? Anyone remember him?

But Revering remained in the majors after he came up with Oakland. And any Cincinnati fan should remember him as he was the player sent to the A's for vida Blue. I look at a story about that now where Bowie Kuhn nullified the trade because we were contenders then. Can you imagine a Reds staff that would have featured Blue and Seaver? Argh!

“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"

Re: Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

Originally Posted by redsmetz

But Revering remained in the majors after he came up with Oakland. And any Cincinnati fan should remember him as he was the player sent to the A's for vida Blue. I look at a story about that now where Bowie Kuhn nullified the trade because we were contenders then. Can you imagine a Reds staff that would have featured Blue and Seaver? Argh!

Not only that, but according to Posnanski in The Machine, a Brett for Perez or a Nettles for Perez deal was nearly pulled off in the '74 offseason. Of course, that means Foster never gets his chance, and his production certainly was on a par with what they would have gotten offensively from those two, but the infield D would have been mind boggling, esp. with Nettles there.

Re: Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

Originally Posted by redsmetz

But Revering remained in the majors after he came up with Oakland. And any Cincinnati fan should remember him as he was the player sent to the A's for vida Blue. I look at a story about that now where Bowie Kuhn nullified the trade because we were contenders then. Can you imagine a Reds staff that would have featured Blue and Seaver? Argh!

Could you imagine what Bowie Kuhn would do to the Yankees today?

My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!

Re: Syracuse Chiefs Player of the Decade is Chad Mottola

Take that, Derek Jeter.

"Since I've been with the Reds in 1989, we've never had a farm system this loaded," Bowden said. "If we were the New York Yankees and had unlimited dollars, we could have traded for Colon, (Jeff) Weaver, Rolen, (Cliff) Floyd, (Kenny) Rogers and Finley and gotten them all -- and still held onto our top five prospects. That's an amazing statement."

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